Showing results by narrator "Harrie Dobby" in All Categories

Catapulted forward four years, Casey and her teammates have landed on a very different Earth from the one they left only a few days before. The Red Eye aliens have taken over, leaving carnage in their wake as they ruthlessly search for the key to intergalactic domination. And they seem to have all the adults – and Casey's younger brother Pete – in their thrall. Determined to free their families and stop the Red Eyes from discovering the final piece in the puzzle, the gamers team up with a rag-tag bunch of teenagers who call themselves the Resistance.

The Scarmados are the most famous family in Britain, notorious for throwing lavish parties funded by their media and shipping empire. Now, head of the family Mattia is about to retire, and he's taken his four children and his new young wife Belle on the maiden voyage of one of his luxury cruise ships. The tabloids are buzzing: is he about to announce his successor?

Twelve-year-old Bea lives with her mother Ula and her owl Pip in a cottage on the wild moors. Since the day the dreams disappeared, and an affliction of nightmares began sweeping across the lands, everyone is leaving and their settlement is being abandoned. But when Ula grows sick with the affliction, she won’t leave – and she’s keeping a secret from Bea. Just as Bea begins to despair, the mysterious Night Train steams across the moors, bringing a stranger who offers her the chance to save her mother.

One New Year’s Eve, Georgie James and her friends come up with a genius plan to help them stick to their resolutions… They all write down secrets, seal them in envelopes and then post them to each other. The secrets will be revealed at the end of the year if they haven’t kept their resolutions. It’s perfect. Except…Georgie's secret is BIG... and revealing it could destroy their friendships. She has no idea why she chose that one to write down. There are plenty of innocent things she could have said – even admitting she finds newcomer Raf incredibly annoying would have been better.

Nineteen-year-old Ellen is thrilled to have Jack Bryant as a best friend and roommate. She would be even happier to have him as a boyfriend. Ellen doesn't just love Jack, she loves his entire family—so perfect, so wealthy, so envied by the neighbors. Then, one terrible Saturday morning, Ellen and Jack visit his family home—and find six hanging bodies. Little by little, Ellen learns that beneath the family's glossy facade was a seething cauldron of abuse, dysfunction, and toxicity that she couldn't have imagined.

In a city that has been struck off the map, cursed to wander forever by the famed map magician Baba Yaga, a young girl called Siya accidentally finds the lost pieces of the magical map that will reunite her city with the rest of the world. Always overlooked as the magic-less daughter of a powerful magician, she believes this is her moment to prove her worth. But instead of being celebrated, she is now hunted by powerful forces threatening the city.

This shimmering middle-grade debut set in 1850s Lancashire, England, explores longing, belonging, and the courage it takes to find your place—and bloom.

The Baron is a short story by Katherine Mansfield: "Who is he?" I said. "And why does he sit always alone, with his back to us, too?" - "Ah!" whispered the Frau Oberregierungsrat, "he is a Baron." - She looked at me very solemnly, and yet with the slightest possible contempt - a "fancy-not-recognising-that-at-the-first-glance" expression.

When Rosie Anderson's boss suddenly assigns her to go incognito and save a tiny inn in Cornwall from being shut down, her dreams of a Christmas holiday with her son are shattered. And, for the life of her, Rosie has no idea why she's got to go. It's chaos from the start—after hours in the car, Rosie arrives at the inn to find that there are no rooms left. She isn't there for more than a minute before she's butting heads with the manager, Irishman Mitchell Fitzpatrick.

Clara and her younger brother, Stephen, are taken by their father to stay with their aunt and uncle in a remote house in the hills as their mother recovers from an accident. At first, they see it as a summer to explore. There's the train set in the basement, the walled garden with its secret graves and beyond it all, the silent loch, steady and waiting. Auntie has wanted them for so long - real children with hair to brush and arms to slip into the clothes made just for them.

"The Lady's Maid" is a story by Katherine Mansfield: Eleven o'clock. A knock at the door... I hope I haven't disturbed you, madam. You weren't asleep - were you? But I've just given my lady her tea, and there was such a nice cup over, I thought, perhaps...

After a very long and turbulent year, Sarah is dreaming of the five-star getaway her sister has booked them on. White sands, cocktails, massages, the Caribbean is calling to them. But as the sisters turn up to white sands, beach shacks, a compost toilet and outdoor shower, Sarah is sure there's been a mix-up. And there has.... At the last-minute, Amy decided a conservation project would be much more fun than a resort.

Hannah has lost almost everything she ever loved, apart from one beautiful songbird. But the bird seems to be dying. So Hannah sets out on an incredible adventure to find the magical upside down River Qjar, whose waters can give her beloved bird eternal life. She journeys across deserts and over dizzyingly high mountains, lives an entire lifetime in the blink of an eye, braves the terrifying Forest of Oblivion, and is mistaken for a long-lost princess.

Moni the Goat-Boy written by Johanna Spyri (1827 - 1901): Moni is the goat boy who takes care of all the goats belonging to the people of Fideris, Switzerland. His favorite is a young kid named Mäggerli. One day Moni comes across a serious situation where he must keep a deceitful secret in order to protect Mäggerli from being killed. This delightful short story teaches children that to trust God and do right is always better than being deceitful.

Germans at Meat is a short story by Katherine Mansfield: Bread soup was placed upon the table. "Ah," said the Herr Rat, leaning upon the table as he peered into the tureen, "that is what I need. My 'magen' has not been in order for several days. Bread soup, and just the right consistency. I am a good cook myself"-he turned to me. "How interesting," I said, attempting to infuse just the right amount of enthusiasm into my voice.

"Miss Brill" is a short story by Katherine Mansfield (1888-1923). It was first published in Athenaeum on 26 November 1920, and later reprinted in The Garden Party and Other Stories. Miss Brill is an English teacher living near the Public Gardens in a French town. The narrative follows her on a regular Sunday afternoon, which she spends walking about and sitting in the park.

"Bank Holiday" is a story by Katherine Mansfield: A stout man with a pink face wears dingy white flannel trousers, a blue coat with a pink handkerchief showing, and a straw hat much too small for him, perched at the back of his head.

Greta Thunberg, author of No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference, has directed the attention of adults and her peers alike to issues crucial to the future of the planet, and the heads of even the youngest children have been filled with questions. Global warming, the greenhouse effect, fossil fuels - what do they all mean? What are biodiversity and sustainable development? Who is studying the changes that are taking place here on Earth? Which sources are reliable? What action can I take?

Romance is the last thing on Charlotte Alexander's mind. Her perfume business is flourishing. And a glamorous new life in New York awaits. Just one more thing is needed: a supply of artisan lavender for her trademark scent. But when Charlotte stumbles across the infuriating and infuriatingly handsome Alessio Rossini, her plans begin to fall apart. With New York finally in reach...should she follow her dreams or her heart?

Marie has big dreams. Of course, a rocky road lies ahead. Lion Tamer Memoir: How It All Turned Out precisely captures the reality of human hope, depth, and folly as Marie learns the truth about neurotic attachments and herself.